Currently....

I haven't posted in a long time, but couldn't go without posting this months currently from Farley.  I am so blessed in so many ways.  I have a great family, friends, job I love, a roof over our heads, my students are wonderful, and so many more I can not even list them all!

School... Oh So Little Time Left

Have to throw a few of my favorite blogs out there for my teacher friends:
1. A Modern Teacher - http://www.amodernteacher.com/
April has AMAZINGLY beautiful and complete teacher planners, classroom management templates, and great ideas for just about everything else!
2. The Peanut Gallery - http://peanutgallery19.blogspot.com/
This amazing teacher has been teaching for over 20 years and has designed so many creative and functional themes for classrooms.  She has everything from Hollywood to Owls (which I've purchased and am using this year).
3. Mrs. Jansen's 4th Grade Class - http://www.mrsjansen416.com/jansens-blog.html
Mrs. Jansen is multi-talented and has created wonderful classroom management tools.  My personal favorites are her themed classroom kits, especially The Wizard of Oz and she has Common Core Standards for 3rd and 4th grades along with many templates and printables for reading conferences, student portfolios, and so much more!
Here's the link to her store again:

4. Oh Boy 4th Grade - http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/
Ms. Farley has a great sense of humor and a passion for teaching and her students that is evident in her designs and posts.  If you're looking for anything mustache - you WILL find it with Farley! 
All these blogs and Teachers Pay Teachers site and AH MAH ZING and definitely worth checking out!

My Own DIY Owl Clock with Numbers for School

Many teachers add numbers around the clock face to help students learn what time increment each number stands for.  I've seen this clock many times....

I wanted to stick with my owl theme and to not have the numbers so close to each other. 

Here's the skinny... a.k.a. what you'll need to have - 

A clock - I found mine at Target for $6.99, here's the orange version.  You can see the numbers are raise & white.

A sharpie in what ever color you'd like.  I used teal to make my clock.

Scissors

Scotch Tape

Super Glue

Spray Paint - I had teal, white, and purple in my garage from previous projects.

Download, print on cardstock, and cut out Owl Clock Numbers from Second Grade Discoveries at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Owl-Clock-Numbers.

12 Popsicle sticks

I spray painted four Popsicle sticks in each color so they had time to dry.

 

Now the fun part.  The back of the clock and the edge has about a 1/2 an inch difference and it needs to be almost level for the Popsicle sticks to stick out.  I cut the bottom off the box from the clock, trimmed the sides to about 1/2 inch and used it to make small 'stands' for the sticks to be flush with the rim.   

I cut 18 strips from the bottom piece,

...taped them together, 

and super glued them to the back of the clock and glue the Popsicle sticks about an inch in from the rim on each side.

Add the clock numbers with some more glue and voile!  You have your own owl clock with number that are farther spaced apart.

Getting Ready for School

I'm switching jobs this Fall.  I will not be teaching a middle school and will return to elementary half days and starting a new position in the district the other half of my day.  I am VERY excited about my new positions.  I found some amazing printables and fun items to get myself organized.  These are kinda DIY as you can customize the planner from www.amodernteacher.com by April.  She has amazing items that are available to purchase on Teachers Pay Teachers (www.teacherspayteachers.com), a website where teachers create documents and post them for free and for a little bit on cash.

I found this fun form on http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/ by Farley.  SHE'S AMAZING and so is her blog.  Please go check it out.  

Any who, here's the fun mustache form that I filled out....

Visits Farley's blog to download your copy!

Baby Boats - My First Oneise Embroidery

My dear friend is having a baby boy in a few weeks and asked me if I could help personalize his coming home outfit.  
She purchase the onesie and bib from Janie and Jack.  Both had the boats appliqued previous to my additions.  
Here are the finished products!  My first onesie and bib embroidery.  Thank you so much to Kerr for guiding me through the process!

DIY Super Hero Costume

What kid doesn't want to be a super hero?  I think we all did.  I still remember owning Super Girl and Spidergirl Underroo sets.  


I made my 3 year old a Super hero t-shirt and cape using a great machine applique alphabet I found on Etsy.  Many, many thanks go to Tracie Brown and her Etsy shop NewfoundApplique for the great Super hero applique alphabet designs (for machine applique).  I simply used a plain white t-shirt, red fabric and a yellow fabric with stars, and sized the 'H' alpha to fit the shirt. 
 


I found the tutorial for the cape on Pinterest from thesoutherninstitute.com.  It's under March 1, 2011 by Jenny Yarbrough.  I used a childs medium shirt for my 3 year old and did not cut the neck or add velcro since the shirt was a childs size.  The yellow fabric is the same and I had a piece of royal blue to make it look sharper.


He was literally running around our house yelling, "I'm a super hero.  Whoo hoo!"  No one in our family can think of a time he has been so excited.

Cleaning Product Holder

This was originally pinned from media-cdn.pinterest.com.  I attempted to go to the site and Pinterest said it was a bad file name.  


Any who, I bought an over the door shoe holder, $7.99 at Target, that was black mesh (they didn't have a clear version).  I was planning on hanging it on the inside of our garage door.  To bad our garage door is a fire proof door and therefore the hooks would not fit over the top.  Plan Two - hang it from the wall. Genius.  The previous owners left many long, high grade screws in the drywall.  I simply unscrewed three and attached the shoe holder to the wall.  I organized the products by places they are used, kitchen, bathroom, floors, and extra supplies.

DIY Outdoor Canopies for Kids

This is an easy and inexpensive way to make a canopy or tent.  My niece Aliki and I were looking at a toy store and saw a beautiful canopy and wanted to buy it.  We took one look at the price tag, $229, and both said, "Hey, we can make that!"  And make it we did.  


No, ours does not have all the frilly ribbon and the colors don't match.  We wanted to use the canopy outside, so we didn't worry about matching or expensive fabric.  


Materials: 
Four flat sheets (can be various sizes)  *We used two twin and two full/queen flat sheets.
15 feet of cotton or other small gauge utility rope (found in our garage)
A hula hoop (free) or 4 - 1/2" x 2' PVC pipes and 4 - 90 degree PVC elbow joints  ($5 at Home Depot)
Sewing machine
Popsicle sticks
Scissors
Pruners
Duct tape
A tree that has branches 8-10 feet off the ground


Sheets - fold the tops of the sheets over by 3" and sew straight across to make a casing.  Leave the ends open.
   *Aliki wanted her sheets sewn on the sides.  .  Match up the sides, right sides facing
   each other and sew.  Be care to not sew your casing shut.

*When threading the sheets on, we alternated twin, full/queen, twin,
full/queen to make a larger tent.

Hula Hoop Version- use pruning shears to clip the hoop open.  Open the casing and thread the sheets onto the hoop.  To secure the hoop back together, use two Popsicle sticks, one on top & one one bottom and secure with duct tape.  Take the other two Popsicle sticks and put them on either side (you now have four sides with Popsicle sticks) and duct tape. *We used two pieces of duct tape on each set of Popsicle sticks.
PVC Version - put a joint on each end of PVC pipe.  Thread a sheet on (remember to alternate sizes). Attached another side of PVC pipe and joint.  Repeat until all four sheets are on and all pipes are attached.
Utility Rope - Hula Hoop and PVC - In between two sheets, tie a piece of rope across (in between the other two sheets) and secure using a square knot (or another non-slip knot).  Tie another piece across so you have divided the square or hoop into fourths.  We tied the rope at the corners of the PVC pipes.  Tape each rope piece with duct tape to secure in place.
Tree - Now, the fun part.  Tie the end of your left over rope to something that will fly through the air and weighs enough to come down.  Let's say rocks, concrete, and sharp objects won't work.  We used our plastic sprinkler.  Pick a branch that you CAN throw the rope over.  Once the rope is over, tie the end the the middle of the two ropes attached to the hula hoop or PVC.  Pull the rope up to your desired height and tie off (we used our outside umbrella stand.  
Set up - More Popsicle sticks!  Once the canopy is up, fan the sheets out overlapping the ends by a few inches.  Snip holes in the sheets and use a Popsicle stick to secure (like a tent stake).  Repeat all the way around, leaving one side open.

Voile! You have an outdoor canopy / tent.

**July 6 As a side note - the Popsicle sticks didn't hold for too long.  We have purchased so many items from IKEA that we have tons of spare allen wrenches.  So, I used those as 'stakes' and they even worked better!

Reviving Wicker Shelves, DIY by Ali

Two years.  I've been looking for a small set of shelves for our master bathroom for two years and finally found one at a garage sale.  The total cost on this project, $8.50.  The wicker shelves were a steal at $1.50. They were dirty and in need of a good cleaning.  Easy peasy.  Wipe the shelves down with a dry cloth to remove any loose dirt and dust.  I used an old toothbrush to get the dust out of the niches of the wicker.  Using warm water with a touch of soap, I washed the shelves down again with a damp cloth and wet toothbrush.
    Dirty                                                Clean

 

I picked a bright teal Krylon spray paint and grey primer.  Grey will make the color pop more than white.

Using a trick posted on Pinterest from Chica and Jo (www.chicaandjo.com) via In This Crazy Life blog (inthiscrazylife-bethany.blogspot.com) I used push pins to elevate the shelves off the paper so my project wouldn't get 'stuck.' I also taped the bottom of the legs with masking tape.

 Primed and waiting to dry....

Ta da! Brand new looking shelves for our master bathroom.

Making a Garage Space into My Craft Space by Ali

Garages, most everyone has one.  Most have cast offs from children, a random assortment of house hold items that aren't used regularly, a hodgepodge of tools, and of course... stuff.  The catch-all.  The vast unknown area that once held our vehicles, the garage.  Ours has the usual assortment of Christmas decorations, fishing gear, house hold items like paints and light bulbs, and of course, the 'stuff.' Our 'stuff' had taken over and you could barely walk from one side to another.  I employed the help of a dear friend and we cleaned that sucker out.  Totally out.  Took everything out, separated it into give away, recycle, keep, garbage, and items my husband needed to sift through.  Two hours and a half hours later, the garage was now clean, organized, sorted, and things were taken to Goodwill.  Ahh.  We now have space for an upright freezer and food storage.
My space.  Yep, I need it.  I want it.  I'm going to have it.  My own space in my house where I can craft and store my things without them cluttering up the house.  I had to reorganize the garage again, moving boxes and shelving to accommodate the six foot long folding table Kerr gave me and the storage cubes for scrapbooking.
Awesome.  I have the table against the wall, my cubes to the side and behind my seat.  Ugh, theses walls are bland and uninspiring.  I figured out that I also needed more light.  The puny compact fluorescent and the light from the garage door opener were not going to cut it.  Home Depot sells 'puck lights,' no electrical experience necessary because you mount them and plug them in.  Genius.  Something I can do and not electrocute myself.
     
For $45, I bought the kit of 5 lights, two 12" wall brackets, a fastener kit for the brackets, a power strip and a piece of plywood from the bargain bin.  The directions are easy to follow to mount the lights.  I did have the lady at Home Depot plug one in before I bought it to see how bright a 20 watt xenon bulb was.  I easily found the studs in the drywall, marked where I should drill holes for the screws and installed the brackets.  Presto chango, let there be light.  It's still missing something.
Here's the great part about Kerr and I.... we have tons and tons of fabric scraps.  Why not use them to make a decorative wall hanging that can be used to liven up the space and that I can hang ideas off of?  Here it is.  Get your scraps.  Pick any color family and go with it.  I used reds, pinks, teals, and greys.

     

Using a cutting mat, omnigrid, and rotary cutter. I cut rectangles from the assorted fabrics and set them in a layout.

I took the red rectangle and appliqued an 'a' on it to make it a bit more personal.  Then you simply sew the pieces together (this was a bit tricky because the pieces differ in size).  Add a bias tape border and voile!  A colorful way to brighten up a garage.

And the finished product...

   

   

    My beautiful granite counter top.           My own space.